Perhaps if we knew that we would live to 100 years of life, each of us might choose to be brave enough to become all that we wished we could become. A dancer, a marine biologist, a cowboy, a president. Would 100 years be enough time to be all the versions of ourselves that we dream that we could be?
Well, without the guarantee, Omaha born Ted Hartley, lives his life with a mission of always moving forward and never letting the past pull him down with regrets and doubt. His 100 years of life have become a story worth telling as he grew to be all that he dreamed he could be. As a Navy officer, Hartley had tours as a congressional liaison for the Pentagon and a F9F8 fighter pilot; after the war he became the Vice President for First Western Financial Corporation; then he became an accomplished actor staring in films alongside actors such as Cary Grant, Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood; he married Dina Merrill; after stepping away from acting he became the Managing Artistic Director at a local theater in Aspen, Colorado; then later they acquired RKO Pictures, LLC, which produced movies like Mighty Joe Young, The Magnificent Ambersons & Shade. It is no surprise then that becoming an acclaimed painter at 100 years of age with exhibitions in New York City and the Hamptons, and having multiple write ups in major news outlets, while a dream for many, was a natural new chapter in Hartley’s life.
He recently proved that you can take the man out of the Navy, but you can never take the Navy out of the man, as he sold one of his paintings for $50,000 to raise money for the Ukrainian war effort. As he said, it was his way of not just watching the sad news on the television but his way of joining the fight.
I always had a fear in the background. I use it as a powerful tool in my life. When I feel that fear I take it as an invitation, an invitation to try. Whenever I feel like I can’t do that, or I might humiliate myself if I try to do that, I know that that is my signal to try, to move forward. And if it doesn’t work out it doesn’t mean that I was wrong, it just means to keep moving forward. Onward. That is my life’s motto.
– Ted Hartley
His most recent exhibition in New York was at the Nicolas Auvray Gallery, where a large collection of his works were presented. The exhibition titled, ‘ONWARD’ is the life motto of Hartley who firmly believes in moving forward and not letting unexpected setbacks and changes to define your future. Two dominate pieces featured were inspired by the Ukrainian war events. The emotion and passion that Hartley has for the kind of backbone someone needs to have to stand by their virtues and their ground in the face of the enemy, he brings to the canvas and many were drawn to the powerful pieces.
Before becoming the painter first, he was serendipitously the subject and muse of art as he unexpectedly entered the art scene by being the subject of Andy Warhol’s camera. A glittering story of serendipity if there ever was one, Ted was invited to play in the Princess Grace tennis charity match, while he didn’t win any trophies that weekend, he did meet Andy Warhol by an introduction through a mutual friend, Jamie Wyeth. Warhol quickly asked him to sit for a photography session the following day and with his friend’s urging Hartley agreed. After a quick photo session he was off to compete at his scheduled match. Not thinking too much about it months later Hartley was shocked to find a large art exhibition on Madison Avenue in New York City featuring his portrait in different colors surrounded by other famous personalities. He purchased one of the photos of himself, while the other colored portraits and sketches of him were sold across the globe.
When speaking to Ted Hartley he said he came to painting as a peaceful past time with watercolors later in life. He loves watching the way the light plays with the paint and how it moves. His love of the play of light and artistic touch was born in his childhood. He reminisced of his boyhood on summers with his family. He would look out the window and watch the way the light filtered through the leaves of the trees and played with the colors. Another important memory of him as a very young boy was watching his dad do woodworking. His father invited him to feel how the roughhewn wood had a very textured edge, while the side where his father had sanded it could become smooth to the touch. His father told him that something rough could become soft with the proper techniques.
His interest in painting grew more and more at his studio looking out over the ocean. He then decided to start teaching painting classes for himself, Dina and their friends. Dina Merrill, a Hollywood and Wall Street powerhouse in her own right and daughter of the woman who built Mar-a-Lago, the seashell colored, now secondary White House, truly believed in his talent and enjoyed their classes together. He sweetly said that, “Dina had a natural warmth about her and everyone was drawn to her, everyone wanted to be around her. She was magnetic. So, the painting group quickly grew.”
“Born from life, from the living of it. He paints not with thought but with the action of painting. Each stroke, each layer, is a moment of feeling.
His work is the truth of the canvas, not the thought of it. This exhibition allows you to see what it means to be in the moment of creation—raw, honest, and real.”-Nicolas Auvray
From there over the years he has perfected his art and it now holds acclaimed spaces in many collections. His ONWARD exhibition was filled with paintings that spoke loudly and full of emotion. He said that he feels joyful when painting them, even if he is telling important stories with his art. He shared that he likes to let the paint and the brush have a lot of freedom on the canvas and let the light take a journey with his strokes. For Ted Hartley his paintings are first moments of inspiration and joy at the canvas, joy at telling his stories, joy in what will be found in tomorrow and more.
To explore the full ONWARD exhibition visit: Nicolas Auvray Gallery
- Photo Credits: Ted Hartley; Nicolas Auvray Gallery; Les Carats Press